Content:

(RoRoRo, B, LLL, VVV, SSS, NN, A, DD, MM) Very strong Romantic worldview with some moral elements in a subtitled absurdist story about a hopelessly romantic 40-year-old Mexican man who finds true love and must battle a drug lord to save the family ranch, but there’s much raunchy humor and strong foul language; at least 42 obscenities (many “f” words) and nine profanities; brief yet intense concentrations of violence, including a distant overhead shot of a man being shot in the head, a slow-motion, bloody, over-the-top massacre at a wedding played for laughs; hero and heroine find a car on fire with its driver missing a hand and lying dead and bloody a few feet from the car; a severed hand winds up delivered to the hero in a bag in order to intimidate him; very strong sexual content includes hopelessly romantic her says he’s never been sexual because he hasn’t found the right woman but he leaps into a lusty, graphic, prolonged sexual encounter with his brother’s girlfriend when she decides she loves the hero rather than the brother, plus some crude sexual comments; somewhat extensive shots of rear nudity during sex scene; casual alcohol use; smoking and plot hinges on a drug war as the hero’s brother turns out to be a dealer who’s run afoul of a drug kingpin; and, strong miscellaneous immorality such as hero’s family mocks him, other people mock him, characters feel they can deceive or do anything to each other to attain their goals, naïve hero talks seriously about needing to pray in tough situations but he’s mocked or contradicted abut it, absurdist discussion on how much Americans love to buy dumb things at cheap prices, hero’s drug-dealing brother says his actions are OK because he only sells to Americans, not Mexicans.

Summary:

CASA DE MI PADRE is a Spanish-speaking comedy starring Will Ferrell as a goofy Mexican rancher who must battle a drug lord to save the family ranch and get the girl. Despite an anti-drug message and some clean, funny jokes, CASA DE MI MADRE has excessive raunchy content and strong foul language.

Review:

CASA DE MI PADRE is a surreal, off-the-wall comedy with a strong Romantic worldview and plenty of raunchy humor and strong foul language. It’s basically a vanity project for its star, Will Ferrell. It’s also a spoof of telenovela Mexican TV and movies where Ferrell speaks fluent Spanish from start to finish while surrounded by a cast of all Latino actors, plus “Parks and Recreation” sitcom star Nick Offerman. Apparently, CASA is one of Ferrell’s personal dream projects.

In the story, Ferrell plays Armando Alvarez. Armando is such a simple-minded rancher that his own father regularly mocks his intelligence. He’s also notorious for being a virgin in his mid-40s. In fact, other ranchers snicker that he sure pays a lot of attention to his cows, but Armando swears he simply hasn’t found the right woman.

Well, that woman arrives quickly enough. She’s on the arm of Armando’s younger, smarter, and much more successful brother, Raul. In fact, she’s his fiancé, Sonia. It soon becomes clear that Raul is secretly a drug dealer. In fact, that’s how Raul is helping to save the family ranch.

Problems arise when a competing drug lord named La Onza launches a drug war. Armando must step up and save the day while winning the girl.

This plot may sound simple and straightforward enough, but CASA is anything but normal. From start to finish, it’s designed to be a straight-faced mockery of Mexican TV and cinema, from its ridiculous sets to its bad writing, over-the-top Spaghetti Western score, and absurdly slow-motion sex and violence. There are also stuffed lions and cougars threatening the men. This leads to an animal battle so absurd the film freezes mid-frame while the filmmakers type a letter of apology onscreen. Some of this is admittedly very funny, in an absurd, goofy way.

In keeping with its freewheeling spirit, however, CASA DE MI PADRE tosses in some very graphic sex and violence, as well as sporadic bursts of heavy profanity and some explicit nudity. These scenes are played for laughs. This might fly with secular and pagan audiences, but media-wise viewers will be surprised, disgusted, and righteously offended by the movie’s excessive immoral elements. CASA DE MI PADRE does seem to have an anti-drug message, however.

CASA DE MI PADRE is not Ferrell’s typical blockbuster fare, but it contains a lot of the raunchy qualities of some of his other comedies. Happily, most filmgoers likely will be confused despite the subtitles provided. The excessive raunchy elements make CASA DE MI PADRE unacceptable viewing.

In Brief:

CASA DE MI PADRE is a raunchy comedy starring Will Ferrell. It’s an absurdist spoof of Mexican TV soap operas and movies. Ferrell plays Armando Alvarez. Armando is such a simple-minded rancher that even his own father mocks his intelligence. Armando falls in love with his brother Raul’s fiancé, Sonia, and she with him. Armando discovers Raul is secretly a drug dealer. Problems arise when a competing drug lord launches a drug war. Armando must step up and save the day and the ranch while winning the girl.

CASA DE MI PADRE is shot entirely in Spanish, with subtitles. Some of the clean parts are very funny. However, in keeping with the movie’s freewheeling spirit, the filmmakers toss in a very graphic sex scene and graphic violence. There’s also much crude language and some nudity. CASA DE MI PADRE is somewhat of a vanity project for Will Ferrell. It’s not his typical movie, but it contains the raunchy qualities of some of his other comedies. The movie does seem to have an anti-drug message, however. The excessive raunchy elements ultimately make CASA DE MI PADRE unacceptable viewing.